Awareness week built bridges

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From the opening-day pipe ceremony to the Friday evening feast and round dance, Native Awareness Week in St. Paul emphasized communication, understanding and friendship between Natives and non-Natives. It stressed education as the tool to achieve all three.

Regional high school Native education coordinator Andy Jackson, the Native parent advisory group and the 18-menber school Native club helped plan the week-long activities in conjunction with Education Week.

The Monday morning pipe ceremony performed by local elders Noah Cardinal, Frank Cardinal and Wilson Okimaw set the mood for the week while a curious group of students - mostly non-Native - looked on. It was the first pipe ceremony hold at the regional school.

The ceremony helped many non-Native students grasp its significance to Native people, said school vice-principal Dave Jorgensen.

On Tuesday (May 1) the school held a career day and hosted presentations by the University of Alberta's School of Native Studies, Grant MacEwan Community College, the Aboriginal Students' Council at the U of A and Native dentist Deb Crowfoot.

Selected Native St. Paul students were honored Thursday at an awards' night. An enthusiastic crowd filled the regional school theater for the presentations. Graduation gifts and parents' awards were also handed out.

School Native club president James Large said the week made him proud to be Native. He said attitude changes are occurring at the school.

"Some students are still influenced by their parents' old attitudes about Natives, but you can see they want to get rid of it," said Large. "It's good to see students are fighting within themselves.

That really felt good," said Large.